Development

…But first, a big WELCOME to Jamie, the newest member of the First Internet family! Here’s his first (of many) blogs, great to have you on board, take it away… OK, here goes nothing! With the online world forever expanding and new technologies being developed, new trends are being introduced every year, and 2018 will… more »

The French government has launched an app ahead of the Euro 2016 Tournament that will alert users to a possible terror attack and provide them with useful information on how to stay safe. The app that was announced by the French Interior Ministry on Wednesday 8th 2016 is called SAIP (Système d’alerte et d’information des… more »

It’s easy to think of web development as a one-off, and online marketing as an ongoing process, leading many online brands to commission a relatively static site, and then go about trying to promote it. But research conducted at the University of Missouri-Columbia reveals when it might be better to redesign a website, rather than… more »

This week two of our developers are jetting off to an international development conference held in Amsterdam, called Laracon. The conference is spread over three days and revolves around Laravel, the open-source backend framework that First Internet has used in its new bespoke codebase. It will feature both a networking and community day with opportunities… more »

Back in February I told you all about our plan to rebuild our internal codebase. Briefly, a codebase is basically a set of code that acts as a foundation for developers to use to jumpstart projects and to provide a lot of useful and common CMS functionality from the outset, so we can spend more… more »

What is LUMA? We developers at First Internet believe in building and supporting communities, in that vein we have recently decided to start a new group called Laravel Users Manchester (LUMA). In a previous blog post Tom Parson gave an account of the new codebase being developed at First Internet, using the Laravel PHP framework…. more »

What is a codebase? All web development projects involve similar processes near the start of the project. Setting up files, creating a database with tables for content, customising configuration, creating a content-management area, and so on. After these similar processes have been completed, this is where projects differ and the bespoke needs of the project… more »

An ever-increasing number of social networks, blogs and other regularly updated websites are making use of infinite scroll homepages, but not all webmasters realise the potential SEO implications of these. In a Google Webmaster Central blog post, Google have stressed the importance of making sure your pages – including the elements that do not load… more »

In the pursuit of excellence in all things digital we often find ourselves brainstorming ideas or searching for the latest websites and online tools from which to gain inspiration and insight for our clients. This research and passion for staying at the cutting edge is what enables us to deliver exciting and innovative projects for… more »

We’re changing the way we do things around here. Chasing waterfalls A traditional model of the design process is known as the Waterfall Model. It is so named because there are several distinct stages to the process that each flows into the next, and the next stage in the process is not commenced until the… more »

A 100% year-on-year increase in searches for retail-related terms on tablet devices has hammered home the importance of responsive web design to a whole new extent. Tablets have been the fastest growing source of retail searches for several months, and the latest BRC-Google Online Retail Monitor report confirms that this was still the case in… more »

The Fire Services Youth Training Association has a brand new responsive website thanks to First Internet. The site, launched yesterday, uses responsive technology, meaning that the content adapts depending on the device you are viewing the site with, whether that’s a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer.

21st century web developers face a challenge the likes of which has never been seen before, as consumer tastes change at an unprecedented rate, guided by developments in technology. That is the assertion of Intellima, a retail market analyst, in a report that draws parallels between modern technology-driven shopping behaviour, and social structures dating back… more »

As the Christmas shopping period comes to a head – and we move into December itself – the value of responsive web design has been highlighted once again. In a recent Verdict report, the retail analyst looks at the trends it expects to see emerge this festive season, amid an estimated £86 billion in Christmas… more »

As 2012 nears its end, it’s worth looking ahead little more than a year, when responsive web design could become critical to cater for the majority of your website visitors. In a new study from Mind Commerce, the analyst notes that mobile web traffic now accounts for a tenth of all internet access – up… more »

In recent years, the development of the mobile web has posed specific web design problems for those whose sites need to be accessed on the move. First it was WAP, and then 3G, and now mobile devices are gaining 4G support alongside Wi-Fi capabilities; so where do tablets fit into this spectrum? With larger displays… more »

Now for the technical phase, where all the planning and design mock ups becomes a reality. Building the back-end/structure of the web site The developer will set up their development framework (we use mainly use Cake PHP and WordPress but we’re flexible and are able to use other code bases too). Then create templates for… more »

Following a detailed and well explained web design and development process speeds up our workflow and thus saves the client money and save everyone involved a lot of headaches. Hopefully once the process has been explained to the client they’ll feel much more confident and comfortable with the services they’re paying for. This series of… more »

Google this week revealed in a post on the Official Google Blog that it is using tricycles to reach places where its car-mounted Street View cameras are unable to reach. A total of 132 major landmarks worldwide have already been photographed using portable, trike-mounted Street View cameras, including 14 in the UK. While the technology… more »

IDC has outlined the “two-pronged approach” to web development Manchester firms – and eCommerce operators throughout Europe – will need to employ in the years to come in order to continue the rapid growth in online retail that has been seen in previous years. The analyst explains that some markets are nearing saturation, where all… more »